Thoughts on moving

9 years ago (as of August) we moved into our house completely penniless and unaware of the decision we just signed agreement to. I remember our realtor mentioning the presence of our neighbors dogs which we just shrugged off. He mentioned the school district (ours is considered "troubled" I'd say) but we were not even pregnant with Jaedon yet so again we just shrugged off the concern. We were thinking we MIGHT be in our house for 3-5 years.

Considering the plan to add one more child to our rather box-like and smallish house has sent me into panic mode a bit these past few months. I mean- our kids are NOT getting shorter! So we started to pursue the IDEA of moving. The problem is our house is not only not worth what we paid- it is worth less than what we owe! Never a good thing. It would still be doable if we REALLY wanted to keep pursuing it but then we have spent a long time thinking about our motivation. Why were we considering moving?
1. better school districts? well, we don't even attend our slotted school district but that brings up a whole other blog post about training and raising our kids to be missionaries- kid of strength and substance so that we might even be willing to put them in "rough" situations on purpose. Like I said, another post for another time. ;-)
2. Another reason to leave- we have weird neighbors. Ok- who doesn't? Our neighbors like (and share) their VERY loud latino pop music ... often. It's better than a few neighbors ago who liked (and shared) their very loud Metal music that had words in it I really don't want to kids to learn. I'm ok with my kids knowing the Macerena. ;)
3. We simply wanted a bigger house- when adding another child to the mix it makes sense. But really- it's more to clean, more to maintain, more furniture to buy, walls to paint but when it comes down to it- if I am not content with what I currently have - I will not find contentment in anymore more.

When it came down to our reasons I think I've discovered them to be more like excuses. As I've talked with friends about this idea of moving in the back of my mind there was a little voice saying "I know you'll go where I want you to go...but will you stay if I want you to stay?" Moving( for me) turned into SO much more than looking into school districts and landscaping. It became an issue of my motive for living. It became an issue of contentment vs. comfort, the idea of a house (being just a structure) vs. a home, an issue of the temporary vs. the eternal.
In our culture it's almost a crime to be content. Everything we see, read, hear and talk about it about getting "what you deserve" because "you're worth it". What a bunch of bunk! I'm SO thankful that I'm NOT getting what I deserve (hell!) because I am worth it. (or at least I was). I know, my mom says I think too much- perhaps that's true but I'm grateful for the insights we've had while considering this too.

I also don't want to make this seem like I am opposed to anyone who ever moves! I hope that we DO move sometime. I just found that the reasons typically go deeper than "we need more space". =)

So- all that to say- we have found unity in our decision to stay here for now. I'm not sure for how long- and I'm not all that concerned about it.
In the meantime we hope to 1. de-clutter and reorganize to help make this space all it can possibly be!
2. build a bigger shed! With no garage, our little 8X8 unit is pretty packed
3. grow deeper in contentment- not for this structure necessarily but for the provision that it is. 4. Learn some Spanish and the motions to the Macernea. ;)